Animal Weddings To Tossing Infants, The Weird Rituals And Superstitions Performed In India

Do you know that in India there is a custom in which Coconuts are smashed on devotees’ head? There are many wired rituals which are still followed in India. Every state has its different customs and rituals which will make you think twice. These customs raise many questions in mind like why are these being practiced and what is the logic behind following these wired customs and rituals.

Here is the list of some rituals and customs which are totally weird but still followed in India.

Burying the children in the sand

In North Karnataka, there has been a weird tradition followed by people. People bury their alive disabled children up to neck so that their illness is cured. There is a belief that disability in children occurs due to negative effects of a solar eclipse and this disability will only get cured by exposing them to the sun during a solar eclipse. The men begin by digging small pits before sunrise. The children are kept in the pit for six hours . Children face problems during the custom but it doesn’t affect their parents as their beliefs are more stronger than their child’s pain. This weird practice still takes place during solar eclipses.

GarudanThookkam( Eagle Hanging )

GarudanThookkam is a ritual of South India especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala performed as a offering to the Goddess Bhadrakali at Kali Temple. GarudanThookam is a part of the KumbhaBharani Festival every year. In this tradition devotees hang themselves from a shaft, by hooking from the back. They pierce their backs with a hook and after that the bleeding Garudan go inside the temple and bow before Goddess for the blessings.

Animal Weddings

Animal wedding is something common in India, as we all have heard about it many times. Rains are the biggest problem in India. Lots of people like farmers, villagers life are dependent on rain. To please Lord Varuna people of Assam perform Frog marriages. All villagers get together to witness the marriage of the frogs. The belief behind this ritual among Hindus is , the marriage of wild frogs is performed to please Varuna Dev, where as in Karnataka, donkeys are married and in some place dogs are married with big celebration according to Hindu rituals.

Cow Trampling Ritual

During Govardhan puja in Madhyapradesh the villagers decorate their cattle with flowers, colours and henna. After that the villagers lay down on the ground letting the cow to walk over them. This weird ritual takes place after 5 days of fast. People gather to watch this ritual as they believe that after performing this weird ritual, it will help them fulfill their dreams.

Aadi Festival

Aadi Festival is where coconuts are smashed at devotees’ head in Tamil Nadu. The story behind Aadi festival is that during British era, Britishers wanted to make railway track through temple and villagers were against building tracks by destroying the temple. During the construction of temple, 187 coconut-shaped stones were used, so the Britishers had challenged the villagers to break the stones over their head, and if they succeed, no railway track will be built. Villagers accepted the challenge and completed it. After this incident in Tamil Nadu, Aadi festival is being celebrated where people stand in line outside the temple and priest breaks the coconut on their head. The belief is so strong that despite of the medical injury and doctors’ warning, people still continue the ritual.

Cannibalism

We all have heard about the AghoriSadhus of Banaras who find purity in the ugly things. All the Aghorisare covered with ash and practice rituals like having intercourse with the dead and eat human remains. The shocking thing is the reason of doing these things is to connect with God. They believe in finding the purity in the filthiest. Aghoriesare believed to have Tantrik powers.

MadeySnana

This custom is very weird as MadeySanan is rolling over food leftovers. The weird thing about this ritual is that the low-class people roll over the leftover food of high-class people. The caste discrimination is the oldest problem in India and the belief behind MadeySanan is that the low class people will be free from all the illness. The practice of MadeySnana got banned in 2010 but it had to be lifted after the protest of Malekudiya tribe. This ritual is categorized as a blind belief.

Tossing Infants from the roof

Superstition in Hindi is known as Andhvishwas which means blind trust on the rituals and customs. Tossing infants from the roof for good luck is one of them. This ritual is practiced by both Hindu and Muslims in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In this ritual the babies are dropped from 50 feet height and are caught in a sheet by men. This ritual is being followed from 700 years and it is believed to bring prosperity to the family.

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